This man designed the 1970s

Who'd have thought the makers of the Robin three-wheeler could come up with something as good-looking as the Scimitar GTE? In 1968, it was early proof that estate cars could look a bit sexy, it established the idea of a modern shooting brake and it gave the car world its first rising waistline - now much-copied on everything from runabouts to crossovers. It was also the car in which Princess Anne was caught speeding at 145kph on the M1. One obviously approved...

But in fact the GTE, though a Reliant, was actually the vision of industrial designer Tom Karen. Asked to turn the Scimitar coupe into something more practical yet still pretty, the GTE was his answer. It was, he says, some of his best work. And yet as boss of Ogle Design, his roster of clients went way beyond carmakers.

Throughout the Sixties and Seventies, Karen's sketchbooks bulged with future classics: the Raleigh Chopper bicycle, the Bush TR130 radio, the Marble Run children's game, Luke Skywalker's Landspeeder in Star Wars (based on another of his creations, the orange Bond Bug), and even a Popemobile.

In 2014, Ogle Design turns 60, and Tom turns 88. But unlike some grandads who talk wistfully about the way things used to be, Tom is still reeling in the future. A walk around his mind is educational, fantastical and - as you'll see - slightly exhausting. Click on for our chat...